ZMail Used by Myrtle Beach National Company
toConsolidate Multiple Guest Databases, StrengthenRepeat Business with Cost-effectiveExpert Email Solution.Myrtle Beach Operator Rides Resort
and Condo Boom, InternetEmail Marketing Trend to Power
65% Repeat Business

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August 2, 2005 - Myrtle Beach South Carolina is the East Coastís top
beach and golf vacation mecca and the most popular drive-to destination
in North America. Legend has it that ĎThe Beachí grew from a sleepy vacation
hideaway to its current status as an internationally known tourist sensation
after one chilly season when golfers at nearby Pinehurst were snowed out
and needed a place to play within driving distance. They came, and kept
coming back.

Travelers continue to return in ever
growing numbers; 13 million people each year flock to Myrtle Beach for
the golf, sun, ocean and shopping. Myrtle Beach National Company (MBN),
with nine golf courses, has been part of it all since the beginning in
the 1970s, partnering early on with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus to
develop the areaís premier signature golf courses. In the tradition of
its founder - Myrtle Beach hotel pioneer, Clay Brittain, Jr. - MBN built
and acquired resorts as well, and today through different

Breakers Resort2008 N Ocean Blvd.Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

companies oversees six beach-front properties. Riding the hospitality
trend toward ownership units, it is continuing its growth with condominiums:
two on the drawing board, one in the evaluation stage, and several properties
in condo renovation

Through it all, MBNís resort enterprise has earned an astonishing 65
percent repeat business, a testament to the power of the Brittain family
philosophy and its marketing savvy.

"My father always taught us to keep guest satisfaction as the companyís
key focus," said Matthew Brittain, Clayís son and current MBN president.
"And, of course, a high level of repeat business means our guests like
what we offer. Our never-ending challenge is to maintain
a close relationship with our guests in a way that makes them comfortable
and keeps them coming back Ė and to do it without breaking the budget.
Thatís where ZMail comes in."

"Actionable" guest information drives repeat business

ZMailtmis
a hosted enterprise-wide email solution developed by ZDirect that uses
expert system principles to collect and integrate guest data from MBNís
separate databases and convert it into actionable
information for intelligent marketing communications and guest services.
For Myrtle Beach National Company, it began with an ongoing challenge of
gathering guest information from the many computer systems installed at
its resorts and golf courses. Now ZMailís suite of tools is streamlining
MBNís entire electronic marketing effort.

"Our resort property management systems did not communicate with MBNís
direct-mail companyís database. We had valuable guest information and marketing
data scattered in different directions and this made it very difficult
to use when we wanted to launch a marketing campaign," said Brittain. "ZMail
merged all our separate resort and golf club guest information together
into a single, intelligent database that lets us quickly and easily communicate
to guests based on their specific interests. Now our golfers or theater-goers
only receive promotions that target their favorite activities. We send
out fewer opt-in emails
but they are more effective because they spotlight exactly what our guests
have already told us they liked to do."

Using ZMail's Customer Communication Management Solution, Myrtle Beach
National first sends reserved guests a confirmation,
then a pre-arrival email with information that allows the property to market
its amenities and restaurants, cross market other MBN businesses, and promote
activities in the Myrtle Beach area that are relevant to the guest. After
their stay, guests automatically receive a post-departure Ďthank youí email
with an online survey providing an opportunity to rate their stay. These
sequenced emails allow MBN to develop a positive relationship online with
their guests and further build MBNís guest information database, as well
as email brand value (EBV). To leverage every subsequent guest-communication
touch point, MBN uses ZMailís intelligent database system to insert fresh
questions asking visitors if they liked additional activities such as water
sports or childrenís programs. The resulting information is the foundation
for an automated email marketing process that employs guestsí own self-described
preferences for effective email marketing campaigns that fill rooms.

"In the past, specific guest information like this cost a lot to obtain
and was complicated to use, if you could get it at all," said Brittain.
"But ZMail gathers this extremely valuable guest preference information
in a way that seems just like a normal part of the communication process
with our guests, and then ZMail puts it to work for MBN."

Guest data + Internet marketing = Booked rooms for MBN

One of Myrtle Beach Nationalís top marketing objectives is driving guests
to the Internet. "Itís difficult to find the right words to describe how
much the Internet has changed the way we book rooms," said Matthew Brittain.
"The Internet influences every marketing decision we make and is fast surpassing
the telephone as a source of reservations. For MBN the question is not
whether to move marketing dollars to electronic strategies, itís how much
to move."

With traditional direct-mail print marketing every date change, every
amenity update, every extra page adds significant dollars. With ZMailís
help, the Internet is providing companies like MBN all the marketing flexibility
and targeted effectiveness they need for much less money. "For one monthly
fee we can mount multiple
email campaigns, and with ZMail technology every campaign can be customized
and relevant to the guest based on their buying habits so there is the
greatest chance for them to respond to the email. MBNís marketing team
constantly works their creative juices to uncover new methods for driving
traffic to the web site. And ZMail has become a powerful ally."

One way MBN uses ZMail to help fill inventory holes is by sending highly
targeted email messages to guests three to six weeks prior to their visit
offering special rates if they extend their reservation a few days before
or after arrival. MBN also helps fill unused inventory by sending promotions
to previous guests, with messages catered to specific vacation preferences
guests have previously described. Golfers are offered a special package
that includes a room and a couple rounds of play on their favorite course.
Families may get a package offer that includes the supervised childrenís
Buccaneer Club program. ZMailís advanced intelligent database technology
filters the emails to include only the appropriate guests. Further, the
property management system interface and unique ZMail protocols screen
out guests who have an existing reservation from the outbound email list.

"ZMail gives us a wealth of valuable information about our customers
that yields more effective marketing and bottom line results," said Brittain.
"It is an invaluable tool for improving our guest experience and the right
use of technology to continue my fatherís commitment to personalized service
and guest satisfaction."

About the Myrtle Beach National CompanyThe Myrtle Beach National Company is one of the leading golf and management
operations in the Southeast, featuring many of the most well respected
signature courses along the Grand Strand. The company formed in 1971 with
the construction of the Arnold Palmer-designed original 54-hole golf complex,
which includes the West Course, Southcreek (both designed by Francis Duane
and Arnold Palmer) and Palmerís newly award-winning Kingís North. Myrtle
Beach National has grown to include the Robert Trent Jones-designed Waterway
Hills, Jack Nicklausís Long Bay, Tom Jacksonís River Club and Aberdeen
Country Club, Dan Mapleís Willbrook Plantation and Willard Byrdís Litchfield
Country Club, all premier Myrtle Beach area signature courses. Myrtle Beach
National Company resorts include Breakers Resort, Compass Cove, Litchfield
Beach & Golf Resort, Caribbean Resorts, Long Bay Resort, and The Ocean
Reef. For more information please visit www.oceanresorts.com.

About ZMailZMailís parent company, ZDirect, Inc. (www.zdirect.com),
based in Miami, Florida, with regional offices in Myrtle Beach, is thepreeminent
provider of solutions for the travel and tourism industry in the emerging
area of Internet and electronic marketing. The company takes email
technology to a new level of effectiveness by giving clients a more powerful
way to impact relationships with customers. With its patent-pending technology
and expertise, ZDirect enables companies to send highly targeted, relevant
emails to their permission-based, opt-in subscriber list. The result is
new revenue captured, stronger customer loyalty, an expanded customer base,
and increased return on investment through the reduction of traditional
marketing costs via measurable electronic marketing. ZDirect is well known
for delivering on its mantra, "For every $1 you spend with us, you will
get $8 to $10 back." For more information please visit www.zdirect.com
or contact Charles McBride, at cmcbride@zdirect.com,
Bob Fill at bfill@zdirect.com, or
call 843-839-3100.